IRAQ: The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances urges the government to shed light on the fate of Mr Walid AL JANABI and Mr Mohammad Tareq Thanoon AL ELOW
The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), responsible for monitoring the implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance ratified by Iraq on 23 November 2010, urged the State party on 21 January 2022 to shed light on the fate of Mr. Walid Al Janabi and Mr. Mohammad Tareq Thanoon Al Elow, who disappeared following their arrest by the military.
Disappearance of Walid Al Janabi
On June 6, 2015, several members of the Iraqi army broke into Al Janabi's family home, located in Latifiya (South, Baghdad) and arrested him in the presence of his wife and mother. Despite the fact that his family has made inquiries with the Iraqi authorities, the fate of Walid Al Janabi remains unknown to this day.
Disappearance of Mohammad Tareq Thanoon AL ELOW
During the clashes between the Islamic State and the Iraqi army in Tal Afar (northwestern Iraq), many inhabitants had to flee the city in search of a safer place. Al Elow was among those residents leaving Tal Afar when they were arrested at a Kurdish militia ("pershmergas") checkpoint in the Ayadia district near Tal Afar.
Those arrested were sent to the town of Al Malha in Salaheddine province (north, Iraq) where they were held in a school. Al Elow was detained there with 250 other civilians. His family has not heard from him since 28 August 2019 when Al Elow called his relatives for the last time.
Alkarama respectively submitted the two cases to the CED on 7 November 2017 and 29 November 2019 to call on the authorities to reveal the location of his detention.
The recommendations of the CED
The UN body urged the Iraqi authorities to proceed in good faith to the search and location of the two victims by calling them to investigate their disappearance in accordance with its treaty obligations.
The Committee, which regularly calls the State party to cooperate with the procedure, stressed that no circumstances can be invoked to justify an enforced disappearance and that it is the responsibility of the State party to investigate all cases of enforced disappearance on its territory.
Therefore, the Committee demanded to receive precise information corroborated by official documents, and stated that the cases of Al Janabi and Al Elow would remain open until the government clarified them.
The Iraqi authorities have until February 25, 2022 to provide clarification regarding the fate of the two victims.